APF in Tilottama Gold Cup semis

BUTWAL, Oct 25: Armed Police Force (APF) Club stunned New Road Team (NRT) 1-0 in the quarterfinal of the 17th Tilottama Gold Cup here on Monday to book a semifinal date with Nepal Army.

APF scored in the second minute through Santosh Shrestha and resorted to a defensive strategy for the rest of the match.

APF goalkeeper Sameet Rajbhandari and NRT custodian Raju Yogi were the two busy heroes in the match. However, both the sides could not add any more goal in the match and the defensive strategy of APF coach Dil Kaji Gurung turned out to be fruitful.

Despite the loss NRT coach Raju Kaji Shakya was satisfied with the performance. "We have a new set of players. They took time to build rapport and conceded a goal, but they were well-coordinated in the second half," said Shakya.

Saurav Magar of APF won the man-of-the-match award.

APF will take on another departmental team Nepal Army on Saturday while Dharan Football Club will take on Samsung Jawalakhel Youth Club on Tuesday in the first match of pool B of the tournament.